1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for separating dunnage from a pallet. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for separating dunnage from a pallet in which the pallet is forced through an opening thereby separating the dunnage from the pallet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a result of environmental and economical factors, it has become desirable for companies to minimize the waste which they deposit into landfills. It is known that some particular types of businesses, such as those involved in the manufacturing or distribution of goods, may be prone to generating significant amounts of waste in the typical operation of business.
As part of this objective to minimize or eliminate the depositing of waste into landfills, some companies have committed to converting at least a portion of their facilities to “landfill-free” status. That is, these companies have set forth the goal in which no waste from any designated “landfill-free” facility will end up in a landfill. In order to accomplish this goal, the waste must either be reused or recycled, which in turn requires it to be properly sorted and organized. It is further understood that some articles of waste include more than one category of waste material, and therefore it is necessary to disassemble these articles before sorting can take place.
In particular, this is the case with dunnage that is attached atop a pallet. As understood by one having ordinary skill in the art, dunnage includes cardboard boxes or any other similar type of packaging material that is secured atop a pallet during transportation. This is a common way in which to package and transport goods for delivery to and from manufacturing and distributing facilities. The dunnage is secured atop the pallet, which is most often made from wood, although it can be made from plastic materials as well. The dunnage is typically secured atop the pallet using fasteners such as heavy duty staples, adhesives, or the like. As described above, the dunnage must be removed from the pallet before the dunnage and pallet can be sorted for recycling or reusing.
The dunnage and pallet are designed to be secured to each other sufficiently so that the dunnage remains secured to the pallet during transportation. Packaging engineers presumably did not contemplate that it would be desirable to separate the dunnage from the pallet, and that both the dunnage and the pallet would simply be thrown away after use.
Accordingly, the dunnage is not easily removed from the pallet for sorting. There are no specialized tools for performing this task, and it is often accomplished by simply ripping the dunnage off of the pallet using one's hands or whatever reasonable tool is available, such as a pry bar or a shovel. As a result, this activity can be dangerous for the employees responsible and inefficient for the company as well.
Because the concept of a landfill-free facility is relatively new, the problem of safely and efficiently removing dunnage from a pallet is believed to be previously unknown. Therefore, it is not known of any previous attempts in the prior art to solve this problem.
The present invention, as is detailed hereinbelow, seeks to solve this problem by providing an apparatus and method for separating dunnage from a pallet in which the pallet is forced through an opening thereby separating the dunnage from the pallet.